LONG BEACH GROWS™ (www.longbeachgrows.org) is Long Beach's original urban agriculture resource hub for >4 years, since 2010.
LONG BEACH GROWS' mission is to promote green, healthy, environmentally sustainable urban agriculture in Long Beach, California, & other activities that educate, enhance, & grow our communities by ensuring & safeguarding local food security.
Our vision is a city that feeds itself.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Winter is upon us. In Southern California, that means green leafy vegetables such as kale and collards are plentiful in the farmers’ markets and grocery stores.

Green leafy vegetables should be part of everyone’s daily diet. They provide ample dietary fiber, they supply numerous vitamins and minerals, and they are a rich source of dietary nitrates that seem to help ward off diabetes and obesity.

One oft overlooked but delicious vegetable is beet greens. Indeed, many people pay for beets by the pound (including the green tops) and then proceed to have the vendor remove and dispose of the tops at the produce stand.

Perhaps this recipe will convince some to eat their greens for breakfast. Of course, any other green leafy vegetable can be substituted, but nothing beats beet greens for this delicious quiche.

Ingredients for the crust

2 sticks softened butter

1 cup kefir*

3.5 cups whole wheat flour**

2 tsp salt

Ingredients for the filling

1 bunch beet greens***

1 medium onion

3 cloves of garlic, or more to taste

3 pickled hot peppers (optional)

Olive oil

6 large eggs

1.5 cups kefir

ground nutmeg

I. The night before you wish to serve the quiche, prepare the dough. This recipe is based on the recipe for “Yoghurt Dough” in Sally Fallon’s “Nourishing Traditions.” It does not make a flaky pie crust, but it is not tough either. It is very tasty, versatile, and easy to use.

Combine the butter with the kefir in a large bowl.

Add all of the flour and sprinkle with the salt.

Mix well by essentially kneading the dough in the bowl until all the flour is combined.

Form the dough into a neat ball and return it to the bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave out at room temperature overnight.

II. In the morning, pre-heat the oven to 350 ℉, and first prepare the crust.

You will find that the dough is extremely manageable and forgiving. It is easy to roll and easy to lift and transfer to a baking dish without tearing. Furthermore, if you are not satisfied with the results, the dough can be gathered together and re-rolled without loss of quality. As the dough ages, it appears marbled with some areas darker than others. This is perfectly normal and does not indicate spoilage.

Divide the dough into 3 equal-sized balls.

Wrap 2 in plastic and refrigerate for some other day.

Lay a silpat or rollpat on a clean surface, and sprinkle with flour for rolling.

Also lightly flour your rolling pin and both sides of the 3rd ball of dough.

Monday, December 27, 2010

“... a list of good farmland places [in the city of Long Beach] that are being sold and the prices ...”

She also said

“Santa I have tried to be good. Me and my mom baked some good cookies this year. I am going to give you one or two of each. I hope you like them.”

Didn’t you like the cookies? If you were able to produce the home-of-her-own for little Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street, can’t you produce a list of decent vacant lots to make this little Long Beach girl’s dream come true?